Gig Review: Jaz Paterson, The Ache Tour, 7/4/22
Jaz Paterson performing at her sold-out Christchurch Ache Tour, 7th April 2022.
Christchurch locals and SOLE Academy favourites, Jaz Paterson and Sam Heselwood took the stage last night to deliver a show filled with acoustic beauties along with an array of different genres, ensuring Thursday to be a great night of talent at the Darkroom.
Jaz has recently embarked on her first national tour, delivering the fruits from her latest offering, her EP, Ache, released in late 2021. I was lucky enough to score a ticket before the gig was completely sold-out (thanks, Mum!) to the evening that was.
While the Darkroom is a smallish venue, the vibes certainly weren’t, a fantastic way to bring through my second attendance of a gig in 2022.
A great gig tip is that it is always a fantastic idea to get to there early, not only to get the best standing spot (or, at present, the best seat) in the house, but also because the support acts are important, just as the main act is. This was proved when Sam Heselwood took to the stage and blew the unsuspecting audience away with his vocals, presence and calming demeanour.
Sam Heselwood was an outstanding opening act for the night at the Christchurch Ache tour, 7th April 2022.
Sam was able to bring his acoustic set to life with his support last night and genuinely wowed. For me, the way that he was able to pour the vulnerability out to everyone listening and share some very personal stories about his song writing was very humbling.
A song that was a standout for the evening from Sam was Another One to Young, which is about one of his friends’ losing his brother to a mental health battle and it becomes evident the sorrow that comes from this tune. It was heartfelt and gut wrenching, every word was pulling at the strings entwined around the listeners hearts.
Sam also performed his newest song, 18, which is out now, was a lot of fun to be in the crowd to hear this one live. It has a nice aura to it and while it is a little throwback for Sam, it will carry on the weight endlessly and effortlessly through the future, in a good way.
Sam’s music reminds me of Ed Sheeran crossed with Mitch James and being a big fan of these two individual artists alone, Sam’s tunes really hit the nail on the head. I will be keeping a close ear out for Sam in the future.
Jaz never fails to tear down the house!
Jaz took the stage at 9:30pm, her energy taking over the entire room, filling the air with excitement to see what she had in store for us.
Jaz is the type of musician who you may expect to only stick to one genre, an actual fact is that she can blow the roof off the place with performing multiple different tones across the length of her set. She incorporates pop, drum & bass along with a solid, soft set of vocals ensuring that she stays true to her sound.
Jaz performed her well-known hits from Ache to LA as well as covers such as Say My Name and Bad Guy. expanding her vocal repertoire.
Jaz’s setlist for the night.
Over this tour, Jaz has been letting her fans hear new songs such as a beauty called Older in which she explained to us that she wrote this while feeling a little dramatic. Within the song, Jaz sings about worrying that she will lose who she is while she gets older and she tends to fear that. This song resonated with me so much and I wanted to be able to point this one out because she speaks volumes, allowing the worries that a lot of us have and letting them be heard out loud. It is quite an emotional song and if this becomes a single, I know that this will be quite an electrifying win.
Jaz was accompanied onstage by Josh, who was creating the electronic vibes in the background, adding to the dynamics of the show.
For a solo female artist in the New Zealand music industry, Jaz has taken on a life of her own and continuously showcases what she has to offer. Her impressive skills and caring persona never go amiss, her passion for her craft pours over, impressing and inspiring many who are looking to go into their chosen careers of being in music.
While Jaz has admitted she can sometimes get nervous about performing, it is clear that this washes away as soon as she steps onto that stage and makes her mark.
Overall, the gig was vibrant, exciting and captivating from the beginning. Sam and Jaz are two forces to be reckoned with and it is observable that they are going to move forward and accelerate into even greater musicians than they already are.
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